Chapter 44: Three Mysterious Men
Even though the system asked, it wasn’t a question with any choices. Without a body, Mark definitely couldn’t cultivate, and Nexus didn’t want to personally interfere in this matter, so the answer had already been decided from the start.
"Fine, but not now. Wait a little longer."
[No problem. This great system is very pleased that its stupid master was wise enough to make that decision.]
As long as Nexus agreed, the system was happy. It couldn’t even be bothered to spare a glance at such a tiny condition.
Mark realized there was no room for negotiation, so all he could do was try to finish this lesson as quickly as possible.
"Master, hurry up. If you keep not teaching, I’m seriously going to die of embarrassment."
Unlike Mark’s impatience, Nexus remained completely calm. His tranquil blue eyes, as still as a lake, looked straight into Mark’s eyes before he slowly spoke.
"A soul can’t die of embarrassment. Besides, for a cultivator, mentality is what matters most. Impatience will keep you from absorbing natural energy. You can lose your temper whenever you want at other times, but when you cultivate, you absolutely must keep your mind calm."
"Yes, yes, yes."
Mark was in such a hurry that he nodded repeatedly without really meaning it. He understood everything Nexus said, but whether he could actually do it was definitely another matter.
Seeing Mark’s unserious attitude toward learning, Nexus didn’t scold him. He simply snapped his fingers. Mark’s soul instantly disappeared.
[No idea why a stupid and weak master like you is so lucky. Michael is seriously lending you way too much of his authority.]
The system’s ’sharp’ eyes looked at Nexus, yet it still couldn’t tell whose authority this was. It was as if the system’s default setting assumed every ability Nexus used had been borrowed from someone else.
"Let’s go see how he’s doing. Whether this lesson ends sooner or later depends on this disciple of mine and his ability to comprehend."
Just as he was about to leave, Nexus stopped again. His gaze fell on the two parts of Mark’s body before shifting toward the system.
[Got it. You want to restore the body first, but temporarily not put Mark’s soul back into it, right? Easy.]
Just a moment ago, the system acted like restoring Mark’s body was something difficult, yet now, in the blink of an eye, the parts of Mark’s body fused back together.
Even the blood stuck on Ron’s body immediately disappeared and gathered back here so quickly that no one noticed anything unusual.
A brand new body, with even brand new clothes, appeared just like that in front of Nexus. Of course, the system kept Mark’s undernourished appearance exactly the same.
[Want to upgrade him into a mountain of muscles? It’s such a small thing I can do it for free.]
After achieving its goal of temporarily locking in the position of the Cultivation Academy’s second disciple, the system immediately acted generous, as if it were doing Nexus a huge favor.
"Do whatever you want. But if you really want what’s best for him, let him adjust his diet himself and go to the gym." Nexus shrugged and replied casually.
Cultivating could indeed give Mark a beautiful, perfect body like a flawlessly sculpted statue, but going to the gym and eating properly worked faster. Of course, it was only faster when it came to appearance. The increase in strength was insignificant compared to cultivating.
"Let’s go now."
As soon as he finished speaking, both Nexus and the system disappeared at the same time.
Right after they disappeared, a space gate opened exactly where they had been standing. Three mysterious men wearing black cloaks that completely covered their bodies stepped out.
"Your teleportation gate is really terrible. Everything happened quite a while ago, and we only just got here."
The first older man stepped out of the teleportation gate and grumbled. Every step he took froze the ground around his feet.
"That’s right. You call this teleportation? It’s slower than running."
The other man with the aged voice nodded in agreement.
"Then why didn’t you two just run? That wasn’t my ability’s fault. That holy energy interfered with my teleportation. Otherwise, it wouldn’t have taken this long."
The owner of the teleportation gate let out an annoyed snort. Judging from his voice, he was probably the youngest of the three, and he had to be at least over forty years old.
"You want an old man like me to run all the way here?"
"I’m a disabled old man, and he still wants me to run. Are all young people this bad at treating others?"
The two old men kept playing off each other, irritating the mysterious man, but he didn’t have time to argue with them.
"We didn’t come here to joke around. Get serious."
The three of them had come because they detected an immense holy power from this area. That power had naturally come from bringing Mark’s soul back from heaven.
The oldest man glanced around. His gaze seemed to contain tens of thousands of razor-sharp slashes. Anyone weak who faced it directly wouldn’t even have the courage to take a single step forward.
"There really is holy energy. And it’s this blatant, without even trying to hide it..."
The old man frowned and looked up at the sky. He had a feeling this temporary period of peace wouldn’t last much longer.
"The universe is naturally balanced. Since heaven has appeared, hell definitely won’t stay quiet. We need to pay much closer attention during the coming period. A chaotic world like back then must never appear again."
The three of them came quickly and left even faster. They didn’t even bother investigating further before opening a teleportation gate and leaving.
If they knew the thing they were so worried about was actually just a casual display by the system, they would probably be so shocked that they’d fall flat on their backs.
---
The busiest street in this city, where people were always coming and going no matter the time of day, welcomed a very special visitor today.
Before Mark could even react, he realized the space around him had changed. Now, his naked soul was standing right in the middle of the busiest spot on this street.
Seeing hundreds, maybe even thousands, of eyes staring at him, Mark’s pitiful face twisted as if someone had forced him to eat shit.